Hurtigruten Northern Lights Voyages

The Northern Lights

The Aurora Borealis

Since humankind first experienced the Aurora Borealis, we have been spellbound by its extraordinary beauty, shimmering against the inky backdrop of a starry night sky. These celestial displays of green, yellow and red, dancing like a sheet blowing in the wind, have inspired artists and poets and aroused myths and legends for as long as people have looked up at them.

An aurora is an electrostatic phenomenon, caused by the collision of charged particles in the magnetosphere with atoms in the Earth's upper atmosphere, and is usually seen in the night sky of the polar zones. In the northern latitudes it is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and Boreas, the Greek name for the north wind. It often appears as a shifting glow on the northern horizon, as though the sun were rising from an unfamiliar direction, and is visible only from the Northern Hemisphere, where it is better known simply as the Northern Lights.

Choose Your Hurtigruten Adventure

Three ways to see the Northern Lights

All three of these voyages sail deep into the Northern Lights season, each with something a little different built in, from included charter flights to an onboard astronomer.

Beyond The Aurora

Winter wildlife and activities

Nature offers some of the greatest opportunities to see wildlife along Norway's shores in winter, alongside an exciting range of activities available both ashore and on board. Opportunities include spotting pods of orca, snuggling up warm in an ice hotel, being led by huskies on an unforgettable dog-sledge safari, snowmobiling across frozen land, or venturing through ice caves in the realm of the polar bear.

Whichever of these three voyages you choose, you will also find opportunities to celebrate Christmas, New Year and Valentine's in style along the way, on selected departures throughout the season.

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Plan your voyage

• All Norway Voyages
• Climate and Seasons
• Ports of Call
• Map of Norway